BLACK MINISTRY

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Black Ministry provides encouragement, assistance, advocacy and influence to LCMS districts, congregations and schools for synodwide engagement in ministry to people of African-American descent and other ethnic cultures and promotes faithfulness to theology that is contextual and holistic, touching lives with the Gospel through mercy care in the context of daily experiences.

The entire Church...

“declares the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

“The First Rosa” Film

The LCMS is producing a film about Lutheran educator and church planter Rosa J. Young. “The First Rosa,” scheduled to be released in 2015, chronicles the unprecedented mission work of Young and Lutheran missionary Rev. Nils Bakke in Alabama during the early 1900s.

Fast Facts: Established in 1863 as a “church plant” of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the church grew with the neighborhood of College Hill and also saw decline in attendance as College Hill suffered loss of population.

Now in a neighborhood that is 97 percent black and 30 percent occupied housing, the congregation is seeking a revitalization by outreach to children.

Services

Assisting districts

LCMS districts are invited to contact Black Ministry for assistance in their efforts to do work among African Americans and other ethnic ministries. We are available for prayer and consultation — making contacts and developing strategies for witness, mercy and life together on the congregational, circuit or district level.

In cooperation with a district mission facilitator/executive, we will provide site visits, interviews and workshops to educate and encourage pastors and congregational leaders.

Mission networking

Black Ministry encourages districts and congregations to intensify commitment to reach out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to multi-ethnic and multi-cultural people. But, in particular, existing Black ministries are in steady decline, needing attention through prayer, equipping, networking and trusting in the power of the resurrected Christ to breathe new life into them.

Education networking

Black Ministry, in cooperation with LCMS schools, supports and strengthens school ministries; recommends and assists in the accreditation process; develops and/or conducts in-service training; and makes called working referrals and community witness recommendations. Black Ministry also maintains a scholarship fund for urban children in need.

Suggested reading

Timeline Newsletter

Timeline is the official quarterly newsletter of LCMS Black Ministry, advocating for the outreach, nurture and training of districts, congregations, schools and professional church workers engaged in ethnic ministry.